Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Some want Canadian Wheat Board to return

Some farmers in
Western Canada want the Canadian Wheat Board to return with a monopoly over
exports of wheat and barley.

A group from parts of
Manitoba and Saskatchewan called the Canadian Wheat Board Alliance says the
former Conservative government made a mistake when it privatized the board and
sold it to the G3 Global Grain Group.

Kyle Korneychuk, an
alliance spokesman, says the privatization has cost farmers money and thousands
of people their jobs.

Manitoba Agriculture
Minister Ron Kostyshyn says he is very concerned about the financial situation
of farmers since the loss of the wheat board.

Alliance members also
wonder what will happen to the Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba when
short-term federal subsidies end next year, reports Canadian Press.

Korneychuk said the wheat
board did a good job of co-ordinating the movement of grain from farms via rail
to port, then overseas markets.

"It allowed us to
return almost the full value of the world price to farmers," he said.

"Farmers only paid for
the CWB's operating expenses but now they pay for the private trade's operating
expenses and the profits to foreign shareholders and grain company
owners."

The federal government
announced in April 2015 that G3, which is partly owned by Saudi Arabia, would
buy 50.1 per cent of the board for $250 million.